Nutty Narrows - Squirrel Pedestrian Bridge
Posted by: 
Hikenutty
N 46° 08.458 W 122° 56.370
10T E 504672 N 5109711
This bridge is for pedestrians, just not human pedestrians. It's a squirrel overpass in Longview Washington
Waymark Code: WMHRB
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 07/19/2006
Views: 64
This pedestrian bridge is near and dear to anyone who's visited it. I didn't know much of it's history so I did a web search and here is what I found on a roadside attractions website.
Amos Peters, owner of a construction contracting firm, had a ringside seat to a ceaseless procession of hit-and-run fatalities on Olympic Way. It was a busy street with tall trees and busy avenues converging in front of Longview's public library.
Those squirrels didn't have a prayer.
Peters conceived an escape route dubbed the "Nutty Narrows Bridge," a human-engineered span between the library grounds and the other side of Olympic Way. He engaged architects Robert Newhall and LeRoy Dahl, and built the rodent-scaled bridge with associate Bill Hutch. In 1963, the bridge was hoisted over the road between two trees -- 60 feet wide and fashioned from aluminum and a length of retired fire hose. It cost $1,000.
Peters died in 1984, but he hasn't been forgotten. A huge wooden gray squirrel stands in the library park, facing towards Nutty Narrows, acorn in paw. It is dedicated to Amos Peters and his creative spirit.
I had trouble getting a shot that did the bridge justice. For more photos you can do a web search on Longview, Washington and find them.
Visit Instructions:
Walk across the bridge! That is why you came here, wasn't it?
Bring a camera so that you can take a photo of the bridge. Upload at least one photo that you took of the bridge, you or others can be in the photo.
Include any additional history that you may know or have learned about the bridge.
Last but not least, include any story you may have about finding the bridge or your journey across the bridge.